Thursday's B*ll*x

[Chinners]

Manchester City in talks over £20m Cahill deal
Manchester City are closing in on a deal for Bolton’s England centre-half Gary Cahill in a hurry - with Nedum Onuoha a the key part of a £20million move.
Cahill will be sold for the right money and City are discussing the fee, with defender Onuoha now the favourite makeweight in the move.
Onuoha has been on loan at Sunderland for the season, and they are also interested in him, but Bolton chief Owen Coyle is keen to take the player plus cash in exchange for Cahill.
If the clubs can sort out the numbers, Cahill may even be cleared to speak to City this week.
The classy Bolton defender knows he needs the challenge of Europe to boost his bid to become an England regular and City’s strong finish to grab third place - and a ticket straight into the group phase of the Champions League - makes them attractive to him.
City boss Roberto Mancini wants Cahill for a position he plans to strengthen and that will be bad news for Onuoha, whose days at Eastlands are numbered.
Bolton are keen to take Onuoha permanently, but they also want young Belgian Dedryck Boyata to be part of the exchange on loan - Coyle has been tracking him for months.
However, Bolton’s interest in taking Craig Bellamy as part of the swap is waning because the striker wants to go back to Cardiff, where he has spent a season on loan - and they need quick answers on their targets.

Roberto Mancini visits Abu Dhabi for talks on Manchester City signings
Manager seeks financial backing for new players • Chief executive also flies out to meet owners
Roberto Mancini believes Manchester City need at least four major signings this summer. Photograph: Paul Currie/Action Images
Roberto Mancini has flown to Abu Dhabi to discover whether he will be given the financial backing he believes is imperative this summer if his Manchester City team are to become title challengers next season.
Garry Cook, the club's chief executive, and Brian Marwood, the football administrator, are also on their way to the Middle East to meet the owner, Sheikh Mansour, and the chairman, Khaldoon Al Mubarak, to discuss exactly how much can be spent at a time when they are increasingly aware of the financial fair-play regime Uefa is introducing.
Mubarak has already made it clear there will not be breakneck spending as the club look at ways of reducing last year's £121m loss, which is expected to rise again when the next financial statement is published in October. However, Mancini believes he will need at least four top players if the club are serious about balancing their first season in the Champions League with trying to overhaul Manchester United, and he has been dismayed to learn there is a significant disparity between his plans and those of the people above him.
Mubarak has gone on record as saying that two signings should be enough and that the Uefa rules are now "driving" the club. Marwood has spoken of a summer of "tweaking" rather than wholesale change, and behind the scenes Mancini has been told the priority will be to move on the players such as Emmanuel Adebayor, Wayne Bridge and Craig Bellamy, who are returning to Eastlands from loan spells elsewhere and who do not form part of his plans.
Mancini's relationship with Cook and Marwood has been spiky at times during what has essentially been a season of great triumph, but he has a strong alliance with Mubarak and is encouraged that the club's chairman said last week that the final say should go to the manager.
The Italian would like to start his recruitment by bringing in a new centre-half – Gary Cahill of Bolton Wanderers is a serious consideration – to partner the club's player of the year, Vincent Kompany. Alexis Sanchez, Udinese's right-sided attacker, is another target and Mancini also wants a central midfielder as well as a new striker, regardless of whether or not Carlos Tevez stays.
One player who will not be leaving is Mario Balotelli, and the Italian has attempted to explain why he missed City's official parading of the FA Cup on Monday. "I didn't understand the value of it," Balotelli told reporters when he was asked why he had flown to Italy rather than take his place on the open-top bus.
Balotelli was instead at an end-of-season function in Milan for Serie A's club directors, attending with his agent, Mino Raiola. Television footage shows Balotelli and his friends throwing water balloons at waiting news crews before being stopped for an interview in which he was asked about his man-of-the-match award in the FA Cup final. "At least I've done something right this season," he replied.
The forward was also asked whether he would return to Serie A and said: "I'm happy in England for the moment."

SHAY GIVEN HINTS AT MAN CITY EXIT
MANCHESTER City goalkeeper Shay Given has hinted he could be on his way out of the Eastlands this summer.
Shay Given has spent most of the season warming the bench as second choice behind Joe Hart at Manchester City.
And he is desperate to be playing regular first-team football again with Celtic hot on his heels.
He said: “It’s no secret I’m a big Celtic supporter and have been all my life. I don’t know what their goalkeeping situation is.
“Fraser Forster had a very good season up there and there has been talk of him moving on a permanent basis so we would have to wait and see. But it is a fantastic club with fantastic supporters.
“Ideally, I would like to be playing but it’s out of my hands. If Manchester City want me, I’ve got another two years left on my contract. I don’t really know what’s going to happen."
Asked if a switch to the SPL would be a step down, he said: “Not if you’re playing with Celtic, it’s not.
“It’s a great club, with an unbelievable history, so I wouldn’t look at it as a step down. It’s a fantastic club but it’s too soon to say what’s going to happen or if that’s going to happen.
“But you never say never when Celtic come calling.”

Gunning for Vieira! Wenger lining up coaching role for former captain
Former Arsenal captain Patrick Vieira could make a surprise return to his old club - as a coach.
The midfielder is set to be released by Manchester City in the coming weeks, having made just 16 starts for them this season.
He wants to stay in England but is not interested in playing on at a lower level.
Arsene Wenger is considering him for a coaching role and it is possible Roberto Mancini could offer the Champions League veteran a similar position.
Vieira, 34, could be just what Arsenal need to give them a winning mentality and provide guidance for their young players.
It would be an emotional reunion for Wenger and Vieira, who had nine successful years together at Arsenal until 2005.
It is also likely to please Arsenal fans who feel the squad lacks experience. It may even be a part-time role, which would give Vieira the time he wants to spend with his family.
His City team-mate Kolo Toure will discover his punishment for failing a drugs test in February on Thursday.
It is believed the substance came from a diet pill his wife gave him.
Another City player, striker Mario Balotelli, faces fresh controversy after a scuffle over a woman at a Milan nightclub. Italian reports say Balotelli, 20, was slapped twice in the face by the woman's boyfriend.

Manchester City defender Kolo Toure expected to be handed nine-month ban by independent FA panel
Kolo Touré is set to discover on Thursday whether he faces a two-year worldwide ban from football with the Manchester City defender due to learn his fate for testing positive for a specified substance earlier this season.
A three-man independent panel convened by the Football Association, which will include one former player, manager or match official, will consider Touré’s case at a hearing in London. The panel is expected to sit for at least three hours before announcing its verdict and any punishment.
The 30-year-old defender, who has been suspended since his positive test was made public in March, is claimed to have tested positive after taking his wife’s diet pills in an effort to lose weight.
Although the code of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) suggests that “specified substances” are those which are “more susceptible to a credible, non-doping explanation”, Touré still faces a suspension of up to two years should he be found guilty of ingesting a prohibited substance.
It is understood, however, that such a lengthy suspension is unlikely, with a ban in the region of nine months anticipated on the outcome of Touré being found guilty of the offence. Such a suspension would enable Touré to return to action at some stage next season.

WAG OF THE DAY


OTHER BOLLOX
Guus Hiddink says he is fully committed to his job as Turkey manager - despite the incessant speculation linking him with a return to Chelsea. "I am not going into speculation, I am fully concentrated. I demand full commitment from myself so I will not go into speculation," said the Dutchman to a Turkish television programme. (%100 Futbol)

Even without a manager at the helm, Chelsea are still planning on a £35m double Belgian swoop for Andelecht striker Romalu Lukaku and Genk forward Kevin De Bruyne. Mirror

But Yuri Zhirkov, Jose Bosingwa, Paulo Ferreira and Henrique Hilario all look set to leave Stamford Bridge this summer. Independent

Meanwhile, sacked Chelsea boss Carlo Ancelotti is set to be offered an immediate Premier League return with QPR. Mirror

Sir Alex Ferguson will be given a "substantial" transfer budget to strengthen his Manchester United squad for next season. The Scot is close to landing Atletico Madrid keeper David de Gea for £17m. Guardian

United left-back Patrice Evra says Samir Nasri would be a winner if he left Arsenal for Old Trafford. France international Nasri is out of contract at the Emirates next summer. The Sun

The Premier League champions have dropped a strong hint that Paul Scholes is set to retire - by leaving the midfielder off the club's shirt list for next season. Metro

Barcelona right-back Dani Alves says he was close to joining Chelsea when Jose Mourinho was in charge, but opted for a £23m move to Catalunya from Seville in 2008. talkSPORT

Sunderland look set to swoop for Coventry City goalkeeper Keiren Westwood. Guardian

Fulham goalkeeper David Stockdale says England boss Fabio Capello gave him his blessing to get married rather than face Switzerland in the Euro 2012 qualifier next month. Metro

QPR have been told only an "attractive offer" for Benfica striker Javier Saviola will prise the Argentine striker away from Lisbon. talkSPORT

Tottenham Hotspur manager Harry Redknapp is lining up a £7m bid for Birmingham City goalkeeper Ben Foster as a replacement for the PSV-bound Heurelho Gomes. Caughtoffside.com

Tottenham duo Aaron Lennon and Tom Huddlestone, along with Aston Villa's Ashley Young, will fly to Marbella to join the cast of TV show The Only Way Is Essex. The Sun

[Dronny]

If Kolo gets a 9 month ban would the time since February be taken in lieu of the suspension ie he'd only miss the first 5 months of next season?

[Crossie]

Id be happy to keep Boyata and Ned instead of strengthening Bolton with 2 great players and £20 million.

Is Cahil really all that? No. Central defence is somewhere we really dont need to mess with.

I really hope we focus on other areas and better players.

[kinkylola]

i seriously do not understand the wank fest being had over cahill .... though I have never actually heard a manager come out and say "he's a great player, he is" it's always been the media hyping up big money moves to arsenal or city. I personally would not want him anywhere near our team, the modern defender is not supposed to be just a big lump at the back of defense, he needs to be able to play the ball and even make a run forward to support the attack. He also needs to be reasonably quick and athletic to deal with the modern day striker. I don't see Cahill as any of these things, he is a more old fashioned english center back. Solid, but not the type of player to take us forward. I think mancini will feel the same way, fortunately.

[simon12]

i seriously do not understand the wank fest being had over cahill .... though I have never actually heard a manager come out and say "he's a great player, he is" it's always been the media hyping up big money moves to arsenal or city. I personally would not want him anywhere near our team, the modern defender is not supposed to be just a big lump at the back of defense, he needs to be able to play the ball and even make a run forward to support the attack. He also needs to be reasonably quick and athletic to deal with the modern day striker. I don't see Cahill as any of these things, he is a more old fashioned english center back. Solid, but not the type of player to take us forward. I think mancini will feel the same way, fortunately.

Then we`re back to the old question of who`s buying them. Joleen and Vinny finished the season well and with a couple of goals why fuck with it unless it`s Chellini.

[Scatman]

i seriously do not understand the wank fest being had over cahill .... though I have never actually heard a manager come out and say "he's a great player, he is" it's always been the media hyping up big money moves to arsenal or city. I personally would not want him anywhere near our team, the modern defender is not supposed to be just a big lump at the back of defense, he needs to be able to play the ball and even make a run forward to support the attack. He also needs to be reasonably quick and athletic to deal with the modern day striker. I don't see Cahill as any of these things, he is a more old fashioned english center back. Solid, but not the type of player to take us forward. I think mancini will feel the same way, fortunately.

Then we`re back to the old question of who`s buying them. Joleen and Vinny finished the season well and with a couple of goals why fuck with it unless it`s Chellini.

In my view Lescott and Kompany should be our first choice centre-half pairing for the next three or four years time and they will be the best in the premiership. No doubt about that. Anything else we buy (if we need a replacement for Ned and Dedrick) should be back-up and cheap and we should be using our FFP credits elsewhere in the the squad where it is needed more.

[kinkylola]

Kompany is an excellent all round centerback, i'm not scared when he has the ball at his feet and I know he's rock solid and can keep up with any striker that comes his way.

Lescott i'm not as convinced about, but he did end the season very well and should definitely stay. I think he's finally getting over the pressure of being a 24m signing and is starting to play confidently again, which is great. Cahill, in my opinion, is not nearly as good as lescott ... at least i've never seen anything to convince me of that.

[john@staustell]

Much like strikers, you cant go the whole season with 2 centre-halves - Kompany and Lescott. You need four quality ones vying for places, increasing competition and ensuring any injuries are easily absorbed by the squad.

Whether Cahill is good enough I haven't seen enough of him, but suggesting using Neddy and Dedryck as our back-up makes me think some people have been in a time warp and missed our experiences of the last 2 seasons. If Komps, Lescott or both are injured we'd be royally fucked.

We are challenging for the title chaps - filling in regularly with Neddy and Deddy = FAIL!!! Brutal though it may be.

At the level we are at now, signing a player does not mean the end for another good one.

[kinkylola]

don't know what the situation will be with cb backups ... but if we had neddy and boateng as cb backups, I think we might be ok ... boyata to make some appearances and maybe go on loan somewhere? I'd like to see how he develops with some serious game time.

[lets all have a disco]

Cahill for 15 million plus Neddy- DEAL.

We would be mental to let Deddy move.

[Ted Hughes]

The constant rumours about Cahill, from so many sources, suggest to me that we are trying to sign him. It's not just one paper, it's everywhere & it's a big rumour amongst fans too.

I can only hope that Bob & our scouts have found something in Cahil that we laymen can't see, as he'll be playing regularly if he signs & must surely take at least half of Lescott's games from him. Tbf, Capello & Co seem to think he's better than Joleon, but they also think that Glen Johnson is a better right back than Micah Richards.

Perhaps the rumours of Boateng to M***ch have a grain of truth in them & Cahill is his replacement ?

[craigmcfc]

Onouha going I can understand but there's no chance we'd let Boyata go anywhere at the moment

Elisha Cuthbert - WOW

[Chinners]

Cahill is a decent player no doubt and is playing very well at the moment but is certainly not what we need to progress. File under Charlie Adams

[Goaters 103]

Is Cahill any better than we've got? I'd say no and if push came to shove Id still select Kompany, Lescott well ahead of him.

The attraction of using Onouha and getting him off the books is a good one but I wouldnt let Dedryck go out on loan either.
A £20m valuation for Cahill is a huge overpay - how about signing that guy from Ajax, Vertonghen, who's cost a bit less than overpaying for Cahill?

[Goaters 103]

If Kolo gets a 9 month ban would the time since February be taken in lieu of the suspension ie he'd only miss the first 5 months of next season?

Yes, apparently that would be the case as he's effectively already been serving a sentence. Would make him eligible by end of November.

[avoidconfusion]

We better not give them Boyata, that would just be ridiculous!

[kinkylola]

don't think ned's wages are any concern ... getting him off the books and replacing him with someone we'd undoubtedly put on a major contract seems silly.

[Avalon]

Is Cahill any better than we've got? I'd say no and if push came to shove Id still select Kompany, Lescott well ahead of him.

The attraction of using Onouha and getting him off the books is a good one but I wouldnt let Dedryck go out on loan either.
A £20m valuation for Cahill is a huge overpay - how about signing that guy from Ajax, Vertonghen, who's cost a bit less than overpaying for Cahill?

How about we sign half of the Belgian national team? Lukaku, Hazard, Witsel, Defour, Felaini, Vertonghen and Alderweireld, alongside Boyata and Kompany. We'd all be speaking merry Dutch and eat fries whilst drinking fancy Belgian beer.

[Goaters 103]

Is Cahill any better than we've got? I'd say no and if push came to shove Id still select Kompany, Lescott well ahead of him.

The attraction of using Onouha and getting him off the books is a good one but I wouldnt let Dedryck go out on loan either.
A £20m valuation for Cahill is a huge overpay - how about signing that guy from Ajax, Vertonghen, who's cost a bit less than overpaying for Cahill?

How about we sign half of the Belgian national team? Lukaku, Hazard, Witsel, Defour, Felaini, Vertonghen and Alderweireld, alongside Boyata and Kompany. We'd all be speaking merry Dutch and eat fries whilst drinking fancy Belgian beer.

Love the Belgian beer idea.

[Mike J]

no way will mancini let boyata go.